What Is a DM File?

DM files support several different, non-overlapping purposes

By
Tim Fisher
Photo of Tim Fisher, Lifewire GM and Writer
Tim Fisher
Senior Vice President & Group General Manager, Tech & Sustainability
  • Emporia State University
Tim Fisher has more than 30 years' of professional technology experience. He's been writing about tech for more than two decades and serves as the SVP and General Manager of Lifewire.
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Updated on February 7, 2023

What to Know

  • Some DM files are DRM Delivery Message files. They're usually used for a ringtone or other audio clip.
  • Open one of those DM files with SISContents. They might be restricted to opening on authorized devices only.
  • Other DM files are encrypted media files used by LG phones, or BYOND Dream Maker code files.

This article explains the various formats that use the DM file extension, as well as the specific programs you need to open each kind.

What Is a DM File?

A file with the DM file extension is most likely a DRM Delivery Message file. It can be any file type, but is usually an audio file used as a ringtone or media clip on a cell phone. They're sometimes downloaded to a computer, too.

Since these files are protected with DRM (Digital Rights Management) copy-protection software, a cell phone must be authorized in order to use them.

DRM Delivery Message files might be downloaded through an installation service and have an additional file extension preceding it, like file.sis.dm or file.sisx.dm.

Other DM files may instead be Paradox Data Model files used by the Corel Paradox (now WordPerfect Office) database software, encrypted files from an LG phone, or BYOND Dream Maker code files.

DM is also short for a number of other terms like direct message in the context of online chat, Device Manager, digital media, document management, download manager, distributed memory, data model, and probably others.

How to Open a DM File

Sony Ericsson's DRM Packager can both open and create DM files that are DRM Delivery Message files. The program SISContents can open one, too.

Copy-protected DM files can't be opened even if you transfer the file to a different phone. If the device uses hardware-based encryption, the file will only work on that specific device.

Paradox Data Model files open with Paradox, which was acquired by Corel in the 1990s. Corel Paradox 8 was the first program from Corel that included Paradox, but they then published the software along with the professional versions of their WordPerfect Office software. WordPerfect Office X4 Hot Fix 1 and X5 Hot Fix 1 are the latest versions that include Paradox.

Encrypted DM files used by an LG phone are supposed to be opened using that same device's Gallery app. Enter the PIN to get past the encryption, or use your fingerprint if that's enabled.

The BYOND game creation platform opens DM files in that format.

If you're not sure what program should be used, or the ones from above don't work, open the file as if it were a text file, using a free text editor. You can often find some sort of text within the file, often in the header (the first portion), to point you in the direction of the software that was used to create it, which is helpful for determining the software that can open it.

How to Convert a DM File

Audio files in the DM format cannot be converted to another playable format like MP3 because they're protected with special copy-protection software. Only the device that's authorized to play the file has rights to open it.

However, you might be able to just rename the DM file to MP3 and play it that way, but only if it's a non-DRM file. If that works, you can run the MP3 through an audio file converter if you need it to be in some other file format.

You can not normally just change a file's extension to something else and expect it to work in the new format. However, if your DM file is really just a renamed audio file, which is occasionally the case, then this trick should work just fine. For other file types where this can't be done, a free file converter is a way to go.

After you decrypt a media file from an LG phone, you can convert it to a different format with a file converter.

If Paradox Data Model files can be saved to any other format, it's likely done through the Paradox software mentioned above. However, as stated earlier, you'll need the WordPerfect Office software.

Still Can't Open It?

If your file still won't open after following the suggestions above, make sure you're reading the file extension correctly. Some file extensions use similar letters despite having nothing in common, and thus are incompatible with each other's openers.

One great example is DRM files. Take note that these are not DRM Delivery Message files but instead files that use the DRM file extension, which are Deus Ex Data files or Cubase Drum Map files. In either case, they don't open with the same tools that can work with DM files, but instead use Deus Ex HR Tools and Cubase, respectively.

DMG, DMA, DMC, and HDMP are similar in that they, too, don't behave like DM files and therefore open with different programs. Follow those links to learn more about those formats, including how to open them and whether you can convert them to other file formats.

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